


Aggressive Spillover

by ACatWhoWrites, EX_10nFest



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Mob, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Crimes & Criminals, Drama, F/M, Identity Reveal, Mistaken Identity, Organized Crime, Psychological Torture, Revenge, Rule 63, community: ex_10n
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-26 07:19:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14995703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACatWhoWrites/pseuds/ACatWhoWrites, https://archiveofourown.org/users/EX_10nFest/pseuds/EX_10nFest
Summary: Never assume to know your enemy.





	Aggressive Spillover

**Author's Note:**

> **Author's Note:** I had such a story planned, but it didn't come together in time, so I took the most complete part and think it can stand alone pretty okay. It gets the idea out there, anyway.
> 
> "Aggressive spillover" is one of the theories behind sexual cannibalism, common in species such as praying mantis and black widow spiders. The idea suggests that a female's drive to attack prey is correlated to the likelihood she devours a potential mate. It's solely based on how aggressive she is.
> 
> Nephila, the name of their syndicate, is also the name of the golden orb-weavers, known for their intricate, yellow-ish webs. They're not very poisonous, at least not to humans, but their prey can range from most any bug to small birds and bats.

For the first time in a long time, Minseo makes a public appearance.

The venue is in the ritzy, glamorous downtown area, but mere blocks away are warehouses and shops, many abandoned or condemned. There's something satirical in it.

Her earrings are her ticket inside, and she notices a change in tone when she's recognized, a hush coming over the crowd as they recall past and recent gossip of the wife of _Nephila_. She keeps her head up and a calm smile on her lips, lightly holding onto Chuntao's arm.

Chuntao demands attention of her own, standing tall and proud with a strong and mysterious aura. She's a beautiful woman with sharp eyes made even sharper with eyeliner and her long hair pulled back in a high, sleek ponytail, opening her face to show off high cheekbones and the natural curl to her lips. She's also the only woman in the room wearing a black tuxedo and high heels that lift her to rival any man in the crowd.

"Taozi..." Chuntao bends down to hear the petite woman. "Look for my friend, please." The stress isn't lost on her, and she nods.

"Yes, unnie."

Another arm slips beneath her hand, taking Chuntao's place. She doesn't jump, used to random touches of all intentions, and smiles at her husband. "Hello, dear. Having fun?"

He kisses her cheek. “I didn't think you were coming. Are you feeling alright?”

"Of course. I'm tired of staying home all day, and I have to face my _adoring_ public sooner or later." After news of the attack broke, and the subsequent trial of her assailants unfolded, Minseo faced headlines of spite, outright hate, and sympathy from various outlets. As the wife of a _"notorious mob boss"_ , she's used to the attention, but it was much more personal this time. She can only stomach so many "you're in our thoughts and prayers" and "you deserve everything that happened and more" comments before wanting to scream.

Minseo straightens his tie, an unusual splash of color. Usually, he just wears a gold spider lapel pin that matches Minseo's earrings. “Showing off tonight?”

“I could ask you the same thing. I don't think I remember that dress.” It's gold and shimmers in the light of the many dim chandeliers, highlighting her curvy figure. “Someone in particular you're trying to impress?”

“Everyone,” she replies simply. It's been a while since she's dressed up, so she made extra effort with her hair and makeup and even had her legs waxed. “I want everyone to see me and know I'm not afraid or _damaged_.”

Kyungsoo pulls her a little to walk towards the edge of the mingling crowd. There's no place to really talk privately. “They worry for good reason, honey.”

“I'm sure they do. Doesn't mean I have to like it.” She twists her wedding ring around her finger. “Who all is here, anyway?”

“Anyone who is anyone, which is kind of surprising, considering it's only a birthday party of a politician who's already dead.” The party was planned for months; the host's untimely death a few days ago wasn't enough reason to cancel.

“How tacky.” There is a tall, tiered cake in just outside the ballroom, waiting to be wheeled in. “I love it.” She pats his arm. “You go back and mingle. I'll meander; I'd heard a friend of mine was going to be here, and I've not seen them in a long time.”

Kyungsoo cradles the back of her head in his hand, looking simultaneously sad and proud. “ _Don't_ overdo it.”

“Of course.” She stands on her toes and kisses him goodbye. He slips into the crowd, and she spends a moment alone, casually surveying the crowd. While chatting with the wife of a retired policeman with an open secret of corruption, she spots Jongdae and Jooyeon by a table set with flutes of champagne. 

"That's low, Soo, using my own siblings to keep tabs on me." Where two are, the third must be, so Minseo scans the crowd for the familiar pout and warm voice of her youngest sibling, Jongin. There's a flock of rich daughters around the baby grand piano, although music is being piped into the ballroom through recessed speakers. It looks like a good place to start.

Minseo finds Baekhyun playing wingman, trying to set a pink-cheeked Jongin up with a pretty girl batting her lashes at Baekhyun and chewing her lips in what she probably thinks is a seductive or at least flirty manner.

Jongin can be painfully shy and not very outspoken, especially against a noisy and nosy personality like Byun Baekhyun. Minseo lightly touches a girl's shoulder and slips around her. Baekhyun spots her first, lighting up with a delighted smile and chirped, “Noona!”

“Noona...” Jongin sighs, immediately excusing himself to go to her side. She takes his arm and apologises to the small group.

“I need to borrow my brother. You can have him back later, I promise.” No one looks particularly put out, Jongin least of all. He walks straight-backed and proud until they step into the hall, then lets his shoulders fall and hugs his sister.

“ _Thank you_. Baekhyun hyung was trying to set me up with just about every girl there. I don't think he realizes how impractical that is, not to mention I'm just really not into any of those girls, casual or not.”

“I know, honey.” She pats his back. “That's partly why I took you away.”

“What's going on?”

“A search and destroy mission.”

Silent as a cat, Chuntao appears behind Jongin. "Unni, we've found him. He's waiting for you."

"Thank you." Minseo takes Chuntao's arm again, letting her part the arriving crowd. Once his heart has dropped back into his chest, Jongin catches up with them.

They pass by the front doors, circling around a long corridor until there are fewer lights, mostly eery red glowing from EXIT signs.

Doors open on their own into the back alley, and Chuntao follows as Minseo takes the lead. "You aren't to tell my husband any of this, understood?"

"Yes, unnie."

"Yes, noona.”

“Jongin, get Taemin as soon as you can; we'll probably need a cleanup crew." Jongin nods and pulls his cellphone from his pocket, texting as they walk.

A valet on break hastily hides his cigarette and offers to retrieve a car or call a cab, but Minseo sweetly replies she's just out for a walk. So what if they're walking in a dark alley lined with overflowing dumpsters and littered with broken beer bottles and wrappers. 

An old car repair shop faces the street with a rusting garage door and a side entrance flaking paint. It's bright inside, numerous wires snaking across the dusty floor to standing lights, recording equipment, and a large, flat-screen TV set up facing a metal table.

Chuntao disappears within the inner office, returning with a cart that used to be used for tools and pars. A man is on it, struggling as much as he can against the plastic zipties holding his arms and legs. He stills when he spots Minseo, recognizing her after a couple moments. The lights shine behind her, casting shadows.

"I'm sorry it's taken so long for us to meet again, but you're a remarkably difficult man to find." Chuntao uncaps a syringe, plunging the needle into the man's arm before he can react. "Don't mind that; it's a muscle relaxant and anesthetic. You'll still be awake; don't worry." He's rolled onto the table and unbound. He tries to rush them, but his legs feel like jelly, and he falls.

She takes the man's suit jacket, folded neatly on the cart, and holds it up to her. She'd swim in it, but oh well. "Taozi, help me, please." She shows her back to the young woman, and Chuntao pulls the zipper of her dress down so the material falls and pools at Minseo's feet. She buttons the jacket, rolls up the sleeves, and leans over the prone man. Chuntao picks up her dress and drapes it over her arm.

"White is a poor choice for you, let's be honest. It's a pure color. Sterile, too, which..." she casts a glance down his body, "may be relevant."

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know,” he begs, “just please let me go."

Minseo turns on the TV and presses a button on the camera. A loading screen fills the TV. "I know everything you could possibly tell me." She focuses on the camera settings, everything showing on the TV, and selects an option to delay a broadcast. "I even know about the home you were in as a child, where they molested you and your adopted siblings. I am sorry for that; no child deserves such horrors.

"However, rather than trying to work passed those horrors, you ignored them and ran away, finding a new family that isn't much better than that first one that took you in. And just like before, you ran away from your recent problems, so here we are."

"Lady, I was just doing my job. It wasn't my idea—"

"Maybe not, but as I'm always telling my husband, you must always be thorough and clean up after yourself. I'm finishing what you started, shooting your own man. You're the only one left." News of the captured assailant who died while in prison rocked prison reformist movements and fueled gossip rags. "I'm going to pull double-duty, though, and teach you about life, since you seem so ignorant.

"Now, I'm sure you know how babies are made. When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much... Daddy's work is on hold for the next nine months, give or take. During that time," she unbuckles his belt and pulls his shirt from his waistband, "the fertilized egg travels to the uterus, where it's protected and nourished. At first, everything's fine. Hormone levels start changing, but no biggie." She unbuttons his shirt and pulls the zipper of his fly, tugging his pants down to expose his navel and hips. "After a few months begins the challenge: Where is that developing baby going to go? Women don't have blank space that's just the right size. Things need to move.

"Can you feel this?" She pinches his thigh, and he frowns, confused. "Good." She pulls a board off of the cart and pushes aside a towel, revealing gleaming surgical tools.

"Bear with me, because for as many dramas as I've watched, I haven't practiced much." She sighs, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. “I love my husband, you know. I've never cared what the media says. We could've been quite happy as normal people. Opened our own line of shops, had a family... No matter what, we love each other,” she leans over him, holding onto the table tightly, “and our child, the culmination of that love, was destroyed. _Mutilated_. I went into surgery for a fractured collarbone, broken ribs, numerous deep bruises, a hairline skull fracture...and they scraped out my uterus after removing my child. It wasn't even human anymore, and they couldn't stop the bleeding...”

The man watches fearfully. Sleep paralysis is when a person is aware but unable to move or speak while falling asleep or just waking up. Sometimes, they may hear, see, or feel things not actually there. He's had local anesthetic for dental work. The injection he received is a combination of the two—he's awake but aware and unable to move or feel anything.

“Do you anything about Cesarean procedures? I was in a bit of a dark place while in the hospital, so I was reading a lot. It predates Christ and used to be a postmortem procedure. It wasn't until the 1880s that the first real _modern_ C-section was performed with any real success of the mother's survival. Now, some women request it, although after a certain time there is no benefit to her, and it could be harmful to the child. There are a few incision methods, some I can't even begin to pronounce; for me, they cut right into the front of my belly.” She opens the coat, showing off the old white scar running across her abdomen. “It's the one scar I wanted to keep, so I could show you.

“Let me show you what happens when a woman conceives. It's really quite fascinating, like it shouldn't even be possible.” Covering herself again, she turns to the rolling cart and picks up a scalpel. 

“You have nice muscle tone, but we need to move passed that...” He can't see—he's closed his eyes since seeing the steel tray, although the TV shows a close-up of his abdomen—but he can hear the wet sounds of his flesh parting as its cut. There's no real haste to Minseo's actions, but she's not taking her time, either, not wanting to stay away for too long. “Like I was saying, the fertilized egg moves down the Fallopian tube to settle in the uterine wall. 

“As a baby grows, it pushes the mother's internal organs, growing to fill the space. The lungs become cramped and move upwards, while the intestines move out of the way, and the bladder is squashed.” She pushes the organs to unnatural positions and holds them there. “It's really uncomfortable. She goes to the bathroom a lot, is short of breath; she has to be careful to not overdue it, but until the second trimester, she really doesn't feel like doing much of anything, because of the nausea and tiredness.

“The good thing,” she says, removing her hands from the abdominal cavity, “is once the baby is out, things move back to normal, like nothing had ever happened. It's _fascinating_ , not to mention the excruciating pain of natural childbirth—you did spare me from that, although I'm not at all grateful.”

He's sweating, breathing heavily. His eyes aren't very focused, from shock or blood loss, so she slaps his face.

“Stick around, sugar, we're not done, yet.” She's already take up a lot of time; Kyungsoo may be looking for her.

The man is a bit more with it, enough to look at her when she crouches near the head of the table. “I know this is been a lot to process. Maybe you think I'm just a crazy bitch with a sadistic streak.” She bites her lips and shakes her head. “I don't think I am, but people do change, especially after traumatic events. The main take-away message for this experience, though, is to never fuck with my family. If you want to get to my husband through me, you did a bang up job. If you want to get to the _head of the family_ through me... I'm afraid you failed.”

Minseo looks to where Chuntao is waiting behind the TV. “Taozi, honey, you'll want to step outside. I know how much you hate bugs.”

She bows and hastily leaves, a little green.

“Do you know what Nephila means? It's a spider, also known as a golden orb-weaver, and they're known for their pretty, intricate webs.” She smiles. “The females are the dominate sex.” 

If possible, the man pales even more.

“I need to leave, soon, but before I go, I want to show you one more thing.” She picks up a box from the cart and opens the top, tipping the box towards the camera so he can see the wriggling things inside. “These are bow fly maggots, known as gentle. The name _bow fly_ was actually first known to be used in Shakespeare's works. They will develop from larvae to pupa in about a week, maybe less if the temperature is higher. Blow flies are usually the first insect to be found on a corpse, because they have the ability to smell dead animal matter from up to a mile away. I'm cutting that time down, introducing them now.” She dumps the contents into the open incision. “If you're lucky, you'll bleed out, but I hope you're alive and aware for a long time.”

Stripping off the gloves, she meets Chuntao at the door and is helped out of the borrowed coat and back into her own dress.

“Has my husband called?”

“He texted,” her bodyguard replies, balling up the coat and gloves. She leaves them beside the door to be picked up later. “I said we were taking a walk on a different floor of the building.”

“Good. Where are Jongin and Taemin?”

“Outside.”

“No one is allowed in or out of here until that man dies.” Minseo grabs her arm; her hands are shaking.

“Unnie?”

“Let's go back. I need to see Kyungsoo.”

The cake is in the center of the ballroom when they return. Minseo stops at a restroom to wash her hands and check for any blood. 

She can always spot her husband in a crowd, forever cosplaying as a storm cloud but tonight sporting a lightning bolt of gold with that gold silk tie. Making her way to his side, she slips her arm through his. “Hi, handsome.”

“Hey.” He kisses her cheek. “Where were you? You almost missed the cake.”

Minseo smiles at him and stands closer to let a waiter pass by. “Just went for a walk and caught up with that friend I mentioned. 

“I'm not sure when we'll have a chance to meet again.”


End file.
